Producing goods in overseas nations feels like a reality in just about every industry these days. If you look at the label of just about any type of consumer product ranging from clothes to electronics, “Made in USA” is just about the least likely thing you’re going to find. Offshore production has reduced companies’ expenses and enriched investors and executives while keeping prices relatively stable for consumers, but it has also created a situation in which it has become impossible or nearly impossible to find some types of products made domestically. It might surprise you, in fact, to learn that several major staples of American consumer culture are no longer made in America at all. Here are just a few of those things.
Electronic Cigarettes
It’s unfair to call the electronic cigarette a victim of offshoring because e-cigarettes were actually invented in China. Since that’s where vaping originated, it isn’t surprising that virtually all of the world’s e-cigarettes are made there. What you might not know, though, is that there was once a thriving market for USA-made e-cigarettes as well. The products that were available from domestic producers ranged from simple mechanical mods to more advanced devices with fully regulated power delivery. The domestic producers of e-cigarettes were small businesses, and they disappeared when the FDA stepped in to regulate the industry because they couldn’t afford to put their products through the lengthy and expensive process of obtaining regulatory approval. Much of the world’s vape juice supply, however, is still made in the United States.
Computers and Game Consoles
Offshoring has been the norm in the computer industry for decades at this point, so it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the personal computer was an American invention. Intel’s creation of the microprocessor made it possible to build a functional computer that fit on a desktop. That led to the development of the Apple II, the Radio Shack TRS-80 and the Commodore PET in 1977. Although it’s likely that some individual components of those early computers – diodes, resistors and such – were made overseas, the vast majority were produced in the United States. While many chips are still fabricated here, the world’s biggest chip producers are now Samsung in Korea and TSMC in Taiwan. Today, you’re lucky to find a computer that’s even assembled in the USA – and it’ll be made almost entirely from imported parts.
Offshoring has also eliminated the American game console industry. Early consoles such as the Atari 2600, the Colecovision and the Intellivision were made in the United States, but production of game consoles was quickly moved overseas because consumers expected game consoles to be inexpensive. The last known USA-made mass-market game console was the Atari Jaguar, which was made in Sunnyvale, California and released in 1993.
Phones
If you think it’s difficult to find a computer made in the USA, just try to find a domestically produced phone. It’s almost impossible today even though virtually all of the phones used in America were once made here. As of 2022, there was only one smartphone made in the United States. Produced by a company called Purism, the phone used a Linux-based operating system that wasn’t directly compatible with iOS or Android. All of the major tech companies produce their phones exclusively overseas. Apple’s iPhones, for example, are made in China, India and Vietnam.
Light Bulbs
None. Zilch. Zero. That’s the number of household lightbulbs now produced in the USA at the time of writing. Out of the many inventions created since the age of electricity began, perhaps none are so quintessentially American – or as emblematic of electricity itself – as the light bulb. Yet, offshoring and the demand for cheap bulbs have conspired to eliminate all domestic production. The last American factories that produced household light bulbs – Sylvania factories in Pennsylvania and Kentucky that produced LED bulbs – closed their doors in 2019. Sylvania does still make automotive light bulbs in the United States.
Baseballs
Speaking of things that are quintessentially American, could anything possibly be higher on the list than baseball? It’s right there in the sport’s nickname – America’s pastime. Based on that fact, it might shock you to learn that baseballs aren’t actually made here. Rawlings is the official supplier of all Major and Minor League baseballs, and the company has produced its Major League balls in Costa Rica since 1987. Minor League balls, meanwhile, are made in China. Rawlings is owned by Seidler Equity Partners – also the owner of the San Diego Padres – and by Major League Baseball itself. It’s a shame that MLB can’t find a way to manufacture its official balls in the United States, especially given that the balls definitely aren’t cheap at around $25 each. At least Louisville Slugger still makes its bats domestically.
Levi’s Jeans
Founded in San Francisco in 1853, Levi’s is among the oldest American companies still in operation. In the 170 years since the company’s founding, blue jeans have grown to become popular throughout the world. Unfortunately for the brand’s many fans, though, Levi’s closed its last remaining American factory in 2003. The company did revive domestic production of denim products temporarily in the 2010s using an outsourced factory, but the American-made products – which were sold at premium price points – didn’t last.
Televisions
Would you believe that there isn’t a single television made in the United States? In the early 2000s, there was just one American company – Five Rivers Electronic Innovations in Tennessee – making televisions. The company manufactured liquid crystal displays for Philips, who eventually decided to stop selling televisions with that particular LCD technology. This resulted in the bankruptcy of Five Rivers in 2004. Even before the bankruptcy, though, Five Rivers faced an almost insurmountable level of competition from overseas manufacturers.
The company alleged to the International Trade Commission that television makers in China were “dumping” their products in the United States. This term refers to the practice of edging out competition by selling products for less than what they cost to manufacture and export, and it worked. Only 50,000 Chinese-made televisions were sold in the United States in 2001. By 2003, sales had increased to more than 1,500,000 units. Although the International Trade Commission sided with Five Rivers and imposed a tariff on Chinese-made televisions, it wasn’t enough to stem the tide. Today, like most consumer electronics, almost all of the display panels used for televisions are produced in China.
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